


Part of Me

by Ravenclawrites



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Clones, Drama, F/M, Friendship/Love, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Paranoia, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29885562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenclawrites/pseuds/Ravenclawrites
Summary: AU where people can have clones and use them daily.orLuke gets his own clone and Julie is not sure she likes it. But what seemed like a good idea at first slowly turns into a nightmare.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (mentioned), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Part of Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Here's the new fic i've been working on for some weeks. I had this idea for a story and i wanted to write it so i thought why not writing for jatp! :) 
> 
> So i got a little inspired from the episode Be right back of Black Mirror but yeah it's basically a sci fi psychological thriller which is kinda intense for a show like jatp but oh well... anyway, it was fun writing it and i actually like the result!  
> It's not beta read and english is not my native language so sorry if there's any error or typo.
> 
> Hope you'll like it! ;)

The air was hot and humid today. Julie hated that kind of weather. She had straightened her hair for once, but it had been ruined the minute she walked down to school.

Julie kept her pair of sunglasses on at lunch break ignoring her friends' teasing about it and tied up her hair which had started to have its natural curls. As always, she shared her food with one of her best friends, Luke. She gave him a piece of her turkey sandwich and Luke gave her a piece of his chicken wrap. Her other friends Alex, Reggie and Flynn were chatting quietly when suddenly Luke spoke up, "So, I'm going to have my own clone this weekend!" Julie snapped her head towards him.

"For real?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, my parents didn't agree but with the job I did for a whole year I had enough money to buy it myself," the brown-haired boy grinned, clearly excited.

Julie turned her face towards Alex who shrugged. He was as surprised as she was.

"You know it's bullshit, right?" Alex said with judgment.

"What do you mean? It's awesome! Imagine all the things I could do with it," Luke replied enthusiastically.

"Like what?" Reggie asked in a confused tone. "It's scary."

Flynn nodded. She was sitting across Reggie and was quietly chewing on a carrot stick.

Luke scoffed. "It's just so cool! I don't get why you guys are reacting like that."

"No, but seriously," Julie said in a low voice. "Why would you need a clone?"

"Sometimes you get tired to do stuff or socialize, so the clone just does everything you don't necessarily want to!" Luke pursed his lips when he saw that his friends were staring at him skeptically. "I know what I'm doing." he added annoyed that they weren't as excited as him.

"If you say so..." Flynn mumbled before taking a mouthful of her salad.

Julie knew she was right to be worried. After weeks of Luke using his clone for various reasons, especially for school or chores, she started to miss him. She missed the real him. Luke was using it more and more and they hardly saw him at school anymore. This phenomenon happened to all users. At one point, it becomes too addictive and people can't stop using their clones and start isolating themselves.

They were all at Luke's house trying to convince him to go out. He was eating flaming hot Cheetos on his couch as Julie gave him all the homework for the next week. He took it absent-mildly, not even looking at her and groaned when she walked past his TV.  
Alex shook his head with disappointment while Reggie stole some Cheetos from Luke. Flynn abruptly switched off the TV.

"What the hell Flynn?" Luke yelled as he were in a middle of a game.

Flynn made fun of him but stopped when a hand grabbed her. It was Luke's clone staring at her soul, his hazel eyes piercing right through her and hardly blinking.

"Get off me!" she snapped at him.

  
Luke's clone let her go and then put the game back. "I'm sorry, Flynn." He said with a smile that was meant to be genuine.

"Stop acting like you're Luke! You're never gonna be him, you're creepy," she cringed.

Luke's clone changed his expression to act more like the original. "And now?" he asked before glancing at Luke.

Luke smiled and nodded. "Perfect. The more you're like me, the more people will believe it's me."

Julie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing she would say would convince Luke to give up on his clone and live like before. She had already tried, unfortunately.

"Okay, but can we have the real you at school at least?" Alex sighed.

"Yeah, yeah," Luke replied with a wave of his hand, but his friends knew he didn't mean it.

"The only time you're really with us is when we rehearse with the band!" Reggie reproached while twiddling his red flannel.

"Because that's all that interests me right now!"

"But what about us? You're not hanging out anymore," Reggie complained with a small pained expression. "We miss you."

Reggie said exactly what Julie had wanted to say from the beginning but couldn't. She missed Luke a lot. And she suddenly realized why. She had known for a while, but it was the first time she actually acknowledged her feelings.

Luke seemed to think about it and his face suddenly flashed with guilt. "You're right. I'm sorry guys, I'll switch off Lukey."

"Lukey?" Flynn laughed.

"Yeah that's how I call him."

Luke's clone slightly narrowed his eyes but stood there without saying anything.

"Off," Luke told him and his carbon copy just seemed to disconnect and shut down, his eyes turning glassy and lifeless. "I'm the only one who can command him, he only recognizes my voice. Awesome, right?"

"Yeah, that's pretty cool," Reggie admitted finally relaxing and sitting next to Luke on the couch. Julie followed him and sat at his left side. They all started to talk and play video games together until Luke decided to move his clone away.

"I like it better when he's not here," Julie said with some relief. She couldn't stand Luke's clone. The way it acted and looked at her. She didn't recognize "her" Luke. Sure, they looked exactly the same, even the small beauty marks on Luke's skin. Sometimes it was scary, because with a simple look no one could tell them apart. It was the way Luke's clone acted that showed that he was the imposter. He was an imposter in Julie's eyes. And he took him away from her.

At his friends' request, Luke used his clone less and less and everything seemed to go back to normal. He even disconnected him for good and put it back in his box.

  
They were practicing a new song together at the studio and Julie couldn't stop smiling. When she hit that last high note, Luke looked at her like he used to, a soft smile filled with admiration and she wanted to tell him right there and then how much he meant to her. Julie's eyes gleamed with love, but she just smiled back.

"That was amazing!" Reggie told his two friends. "You guys just ooze chemistry."

"Please, never say that word again," Alex cringed. "But he's right, you guys are perfect when you sing together."

That made Luke blushed. Julie just shrugged pretending to be oblivious, but her heart had skipped a beat when she had seen Luke's reaction. He glanced at Julie one last time before strumming his guitar with sudden interest.

"We can add this bit in the chorus, what do you all think?" Luke asked repeating the melody he came up with his guitar.

"I really like that!" Reggie beamed, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement.  
  
"Yes, it's great," Julie replied with fondness. She couldn't help it.

Luke's excitement seemed to hit him like he drank ten cups of coffee. They played again and this time Luke was so much into it that he almost knocked off Alex's crash cymbal. Alex wasn't mad however, as they were used to Luke's immeasurable energy when they played together. Or the way he bounced with the beat and made rock star moves feeling the music like it was running through his veins, high on dopamine. Julie had always been in awe. It was one of the million reasons she loved him.

 _She loved him_.

Bobby let himself in Julie's studio with different drinks in his hands. He put them on the untouched piano and watched his friends finishing what they were doing.

"Hey Bobby!" Luke exclaimed happily when they finished the last chorus.

"Got you some drinks," Bobby said. "I know you like your coffee after rehearsal." He took one of the drinks and gave it to Luke.

"Here, Caramel latte." Luke looked at him with heart eyes. He was the one with the sweet tooth in the group.

Bobby gave the rest of the drinks to his friends.

"Ok so an iced coffee for Jules, a milkshake for Reggie and a black tea for Alex," He recapped to make sure it was right.

"As black as my soul. Thanks, Bobby, " Alex said giving a small tap on his shoulder. Julie rolled her eyes at that but chuckled.

"You're the best!" Reggie smiled happily.

Julie thanked him already taking a sip of the iced coffee. Everything was back to normal. She was enjoying the afternoon playing music with her friends, especially Luke. It made her happy. She loved moments like this when everything seemed easy and joyful, thrilling, and exciting, laughs and music and friendship and love. She hugged Bobby and he looked at her confused.

"I want one too," Luke requested. "I love hugs!"

"Group hug!" Reggie exclaimed.

They all complied and hugged each other and then played some more while Bobby was watching them proudly. And then Alex's boyfriend, Willie arrived at the studio and cheered loudly at one of their performance.

"Why did you quit the band, Bobby?" Luke pouted. They had just finished their last song. "You're an amazing rhythm guitarist!"

"You know why, I've told you a million times! I'm too busy with school and Lacrosse practices," Bobby retorted. "And unlike you, I don't want to become a Rockstar..."

“Yeah, right,” Luke huffed but didn't argue more.

Alex was sitting on the couch with Willie and they all started to chat quietly until Willie kept staring at Luke curiously and finally asked, "Is this Luke or the clone?"

"It's me!" Luke replied almost offended.

"Sorry, man, but you have used your clone all the time lately so I thought..." he trailed off not knowing how to really explain himself.

"Luke deactivated his clone," Alex explained giving his boyfriend a small smile.

"Oh okay," Willie mumbled thoughtfully. "I guess I would have used it all the time too. Maybe I can get one to practice new skate tricks."

"Please, no." Alex gave him a serious look. Willie laughed and stroked Alex's back in a reassuring way.

He was clearly joking but Julie didn't like this talk about the clone again. She had had enough with all the advertisements on TV and billboards on this revolutionary way of living. People even used this system to bring dead people back. It had started with creating artificial arms or legs for medical purposes and then it had gone too far when they had decided to create actual bodies. They were called Semi-artificial copies and they could have your DNA or the DNA of a deceased loved one. However, everybody called them “clones” or just “copies”. Julie found it rather scary and bleak. She would have loved to have her mom back, but not that way. She even blocked all advertisements about it on her phone. And when Luke had gotten his own clone, she was rather shocked. She knew how much he was unpredictable, but it had been strange of him.

"Luke, why would you have a clone?" the question came out of her mouth before she even realized it.

Luke seemed to think about it for a little while, his eyebrows furrowed and his thumb stroking his chin.

"I thought he would do all the things I struggled with so I can focus on music," he replied in a small voice. "My mom doesn't want me to have a music career. She wants me to become someone important and keeps telling me to focus on school. I hate school so he was supposed to replace me, but I didn't plan that it would consume me like this..."

"It's okay Luke, we get it. And they're gonna ban clones to school, anyway," Reggie said after a minute.

No one said something else after that. They decided to watch a movie together and enjoy the rest of the afternoon in each other's company. Julie could feel Luke's gaze during the movie. It was like he was telling her so much in silence and her breath hitched. Her heart full, Julie did something bold and spontaneous. Her fingers brushed Luke's hand and finally took it gently. Luke didn't even look at her when he smiled, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. And just like that they didn't have to say anything, at that moment, they knew _. I love you_.

A week passed slowly, and Julie loved how her relationship with Luke stayed the same. The only difference was that Luke had held her hand every day of the week. Except for that one day where she thought he was off.

"There's something wrong with Luke," she said very bluntly.

She was in the school auditorium playing some piano while Alex was messing around with a tambourine. It was one of those days where it was just them and she would tell him all the juicy stories and they would make fun of people and cackle like stupid kids. It was almost the same with her childhood friend Flynn, but her friendship with Alex was different. She felt like she could be her most sassy and sarcastic self with him and sometimes it felt really amazing, especially after a stressful day. And other times, Alex was just a great listener with wonderful advice.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked rather surprised by the sudden statement.

"I don't know, he didn't hold my hand today and, um, I don't know..." Julie whispered like she shouldn't have said it.

"Okay," Alex replied in a tone that encouraged her to go on.

"I just feel it. Something's wrong." Julie brushed the keys with her fingertips, looking only at the piano.

Alex put the tambourine back in the instrument box. He ran a hand through his blond hair and then sat next to Julie on the piano chair.

"He's the same to me." He pressed a key.

Julie pressed another key and they pressed at the same time making it sound like a cry. "Yeah, you're probably right."

The rest of the day, she tried to forget about it, wishing she was only imagining things. However, Luke did something peculiar again that day. He forgot to share his food with her like they would all the time. It was their little ritual and even if their friends participated sometimes, it was their thing. She looked at him intently waiting for him to realize his mistake, but he ignored her and bit on his sandwich.

She placed her pasta box next to his food to give him a hint.

"Oh thanks, Jules!" and then he realized. "Want a piece of my sandwich?"

"You don't have to ask me," Julie replied disappointed. "We never have to ask each other."

"I'm sorry," he apologized slightly embarrassed. 

They exchanged their food and Luke told her how good her pasta was and got really excited about it. But something seemed off again. Julie couldn't quite place it, but it was there floating in the air like an unpleasant smell. She stared at him and he gave her a quick smile before taking her hand. She sighed in relief. Perhaps, she was worried for nothing. Luke acted like himself the rest of day which put Julie at ease again. Or so she thought.

The next day, Luke kissed her goodbye after school. That's when she knew. That wasn't Luke.

She stayed at Flynn's after class working on a school project. Her brain was repeating the scene over and over until she couldn't take it anymore. Flynn was her person of trust; she could tell her all of her deepest secrets and insecurities and she always felt safe with her.

"Flynn," Julie breathed out.

"Yeah?"

"Luke kissed me."

Flynn who was lying on her bed and was casually twirling her braid around her finger immediately moved into a sitting position to look at Julie with wide eyes. "Oh my god, finally!" She looked suddenly excited.

Julie was sitting at Flynn's desk, a pen in her hand that she had started chewing out of stress.

"No, no, you don't understand. Luke and I, we agreed we don't have to kiss cause our connection is deeper than that. And also, he's not comfortable with it."

"Well, seems like he changed his mind," Flynn answered with a wink. "Good for you, Jules."

Julie shook her head and looked at the ground, lost in thoughts. "That's not Luke," she mumbled too low for Flynn to hear her.

"What did you say?"

"Do you think Luke is using his clone again?"

"No, he got rid of it, remember? He even got a refund and everything."

"Yeah, but..." Julie felt the fear creep inside her and she couldn't stop it.

Flynn looked at her with sudden realization. "You think it was Luke's clone because he kissed you?"

"Yeah..."

"That doesn't make sense. If Luke kissed you, it's because he loves you and maybe you're the only one he feels comfortable enough to do that. Don't overthink it! You're amazing and you deserve it!" Flynn walked up to Julie to give her a hug.

"You're probably right. Thank you, Flynn." She hugged her back.

Julie went to Luke's house the next day. Surprisingly, he had called her and told her to come. Perhaps she had been wrong all along and it was really Luke. He would do something like this for her. One time he had taken her to the beach. It had been just them and they had played like children and then sung their lungs out until it had gotten dark.

It was a hot day and she was already tired and sweaty when she arrived at Luke's house. She had tied up her air in a bun and was wearing white cargo pants with a purple crop top. She checked herself one last time with her phone as a mirror before knocking on Luke's door.

No answer. She took a look through the window to see if he was there, but no one was in sight. She was about to ring the doorbell for good measure when she felt a presence behind her. She even could see the shadow on the ground. Julie turned around so abruptly that she almost spun.

 _It was Luke_.

"Oh my god, Luke, you scared the shit out of me!" Julie exclaimed, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Sorry. I wanted to buy some snacks for our little music session," Luke apologized genuinely. "I know you get hungry when we write songs." He gave her a soft smile.

She really must have imagined things. He seemed normal. She nodded and smiled back in relief before following him inside.

Luke gave Julie a glass of water and then led her to his backyard where he had put a blanket on the grass. His guitar and a notepad were already there. He sat down and pat the blanket next to him for Julie to sit. She readjusted her glasses before finally sitting by his side.

They started to find a melody and writing lyrics. Julie was munching on the chocolate covered pretzels that Luke had bought for her. He knew it was her favorite snacks and she loved that he remembered it.

Julie enjoyed spending time writing songs with Luke. When they were making music together everything felt right. They knew what they wanted to say and what to convey with their music. They were like music soulmates, something strong connected them and created this space where they were in perfect harmony. It was surely another reason why Julie loved Luke. She loved how driven he was and how music had such a powerful meaning for him. Her mom had this love for music too and used to share it with her. Luke had filled the void her mom had left. He had made her love music even more than before. He had made her feel alive again.

Luke finally grabbed his guitar to play the full song and finalize the harmonies. Then, he moved his guitar to his left hand and Julie noticed it.

"What are you doing?" she frowned looking at the way he was holding the instrument. She was confused.

"What?" Luke glanced at her but quickly gave back his attention to his guitar.

"You usually play with your right hand cause you're right-handed," Julie explained but confusion still apparent on her face. She readjusted her glasses again as if she would have been able to see clearer and somehow realize she didn't see well before.

"I'm not really gonna play like this. I'm just trying something, it's not serious," Luke defended himself. He chuckled and then kissed her cheek. She blushed.

"You know, you can only kiss me on the cheek if you're more comfortable with it," Julie told him in a calm and soft tone, changing the subject. It was her way to reassure him about these things. "I mean, you don't have to kiss me on the... on the lips." her cheeks got red from embarrassment. She was still thinking about that day he had kissed her out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked with confusion. "Couples kiss, right?"

"I mean, you don't have to do it for me. I know it's not something you're comfortable with so don't force yourself, okay?"

"Oh, I see..." he seemed to think about it for a minute. "Well, before we started dating, I was worried it was gonna be an issue, but it's not. I always feel safe with you, only you."

Julie felt her heart swell with happiness. She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," she blurted out. It was the first time she actually said it out loud.

"I love you too..." Luke shifted and changed the position of his guitar.

He started playing with his right hand this time and they sang together.

The whole night, all Julie could think about was that strange scene with Luke holding his guitar the wrong way. They had had a perfect date and she even told him she loved him, but that moment had just remained in her mind after that and she couldn't ignore it.

The vivid image of a changing Luke, teeth white in the dark, smiling like a maniac popped in her dream turning it into a nightmare. She opened her eyes, her breathing heavy and labored and sweat running at her temple.

The nightmare didn't leave her when she walked down to school, when Luke held her hand, when she was in class and when she had lunch with her friends.

Julie stared at Luke trying to find anything that could confirm it was really him. The clone was supposed to look exactly the same physically but there was probably something there on his skin or maybe his rings. She checked his fingers, but the rings were right at their place, just like Luke liked them.

"Jules!" She didn't hear Flynn calling her.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening," Julie admitted her eyes finally detaching from Luke.

"We were talking about the school dance," Alex said. "Are you going?"

"I don't know," Julie answered but she was distracted. Her eyes were scanning Luke again.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked. He looked at her with worried eyes but all she could see was the white teeth in the dark and his face changing, her nightmare still vivid in her mind. She needed to focus.

That was when she saw it, imperceptible at first but there from the beginning. Luke's eyes had stayed the same color all week, dull hazel eyes, not changing once. And of course, no one would notice. It wasn't something you would notice if you didn't look for it.

Luke's eyes were hazel but most of the time they changed. Sometimes green with a tinge of gold and then light green turning into a soft blue in the light. She had noticed it one day. Luke had been the last one left at the studio after rehearsal and they talked in the front yard sitting on the stairs. The sun shined in his eyes and there she saw it.

She had been right, all that time. That wasn't Luke. If Luke had gotten rid of his clone, why was he still there pretending to be the real one? Where was Luke?

_Where was Luke?_

Julie could feel the fear crawling in her belly and her breath catch in her chest. But she couldn't say anything and acted as if everything was fine.

"Julie?" Luke asked again. _That wasn't him._

"I'm-I'm fine!" Julie replied with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Flynn narrowed her eyes. "You don't seem okay."

"Yeah you're weird today," Reggie noted.

"No, everything's fine! I'm just thirsty!" Julie faked a smile. "Oh huh, Luke can you get some water for me, please?" She was hoping he would go.

"Yeah, sure," he said with a shrug.

When he was out of sight Julie breathed out before burying her face in her hands. She was trying so hard to calm down the fear inside of her.

"Oh my god, Jules! What's going on?" Flynn was alarmed.

"This is not Luke," she just replied, her breath trying to be steadier.

"Not that again!" Flynn rolled her eyes, but she was still concerned for her friend.

"I swear guys! I've noticed a lot of things that just tell me that this guy is not Luke!" Julie argued. Her eyes begging them to believe her.

"But he is exactly like Luke," Alex said trying to reason her. "He doesn't have his clone anymore, Julie. Don't worry."

Julie shook her head. "You have to believe me. I know him. I just know!"

While frightened by her statement, her friends tried to make sense and reassured her. They all went silent when Luke got back with a water bottle.

They looked at him like they were trying to see something hidden. However, no one dared to say anything and resumed eating. Julie got up abruptly, then left silently and her friends gaped at her like she was going mad.

She wasn't mad. She knew she was right. She had to find _Luke_.

Julie tried to remember the last time she had seen the brown-haired boy. She concluded it was a week ago, but she couldn't be really sure. Luke's clone was almost perfect, so it was hard to see through the copy. But it wasn't an exact copy. You couldn't possibly clone behavior which meant the clone had to learn to act like the original or people could download any information into the clone for it to act exactly like it should. But she knew Luke didn't do that with his clone which meant that he was still learning and that could have explained why Julie had noticed all these tiny details about him. She had to show the truth to her friends and the only way was to find the real Luke.

Thoughts of him tied up or trapped somewhere were running in her mind. She lay in her bed incapable of sleeping and thinking about something else. She felt guilty that she didn't realize sooner that something was wrong.

Julie took her phone and opened a picture of her and Luke looking happy, holding each other lovingly and grinning. She remembered when Alex took the picture of them. They had practiced a new song in her studio, and everyone was pumped and full of energy after that, goofing with each other and playing stupid games. It had not been long after Luke supposedly had given back his clone.

She zoomed the picture and focused on Luke's eyes. It was a little blurry, but she could see the hazel irises. She didn't remember his eyes naturally changing since that time. It was probably not even Luke in the picture which meant his clone had found a way to replace him somehow. Right after Luke wanted to give him back. Julie connected the dots, but it scared her that this was what might have happened.

Two days later and she still had no clue where Luke was. She was worried, distracted and on edge during band practice and her friends suspected why, except Luke's clone who was totally in the dark about the suspicions.

As usual, Bobby brought drinks for them. They took a break which Julie really needed at that moment because her head was about to explode.

"This song is really my favorite," Bobby commented from where he was sitting on the couch, next to Flynn. The drinks where left on the coffee table and they all put down their instruments to join them.

"Thanks Bobby!" Reggie replied enthusiastically.

Julie took her iced coffee, same order as always. She sipped the black liquid quietly when Alex complained, "Where's my tea?"

He took the last drink on the table and checked it with confusion. "Luke that's your caramel latte, give me my tea back, please."

Luke realized his mistake. "Sorry, Alex. I got mine mixed up..."

"That never happens, Luke. Our orders are totally different," Alex retorted.

"I was distracted," Luke argued. "Here, have it back. I don't like tea anyway."

"Thief," Alex mumbled jokingly before taking his drink when Luke held it out to him.

Julie had watched the scene with wide eyes. This gave her just another proof to believe that it wasn't truly Luke. And it seemed that Alex started to pick up on that too. They both exchanged a look.

She put him aside some minutes later to speak in private.

"Did you see? He's acting weird!" she whispered grabbing his shoulders.

Alex sighed. "Well, what happened earlier was a little weird I have to admit, but he seems normal other than that."

"Are you serious, Alex? You don't believe me?"

"It's not that, Jules," Alex muttered. "I've known Luke for years now, way before we met you and Flynn. I know him and he's been weird before."

"But like this?"

"I mean, yeah, he really seems distracted lately. It’s like something is troubling him," Alex answered rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully.

Julie let her arms fall in defeat. It was no use arguing more. "Then I'll prove it to you, just wait!"

"You worry me too," Alex mumbled when Julie walked away.

She went back to her friends who were chatting joyfully and sipping on their drinks.

"Jules, are you okay?" Luke asked with worried eyes. He took her hand gently, but she almost smacked it away.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped. She wanted the real Luke back, not this pale copy of him.

Luke only frowned but he was clearly hurt by her reaction. "What's going on?" he asked with a pained expression.

She hated that he pretended to feel something when he wasn't real. He was just acting like Luke and fooled everyone.

"You can cut the act now," Julie hissed. "You can fool everyone, but not me!"

Luke's eyes got wide. He looked at Alex and Reggie as if he was going to get answer from them. Reggie shrugged but he was rather frightened by Julie's outburst.

"I don't know what I did for you to react like that, but clearly I'm bothering you, so there's no reason for me to stay here!" Luke spat before leaving the room.

"Is this about you believing he's a clone?" Flynn asked a little exasperated.

"Why don't you believe me? It's right in front of your eyes and you're doing nothing!" Julie shouted. "Bobby! You see it, right? Luke is not acting like himself!"

"Wh-What?" Bobby stuttered completely lost by the situation.

"She thinks Luke disappeared and his clone has replaced him for some reasons," Alex explained, disturbed by the idea.

"He-he seems like usual," Bobby replied, his eyes going back and forth from Alex to Julie.

"Luke is out there, god knows where, alone and an imposter is taking his place and you're not gonna do a thing?" she was stunned.

"I don't know, Julie," Reggie winced in expectation of another outburst. "This seems far-fetched and very unlikely."

"Fine! I'll deal with it myself!" Julie stormed out of the studio.

She couldn't believe that they didn't care about Luke at all. He was probably in danger and they couldn't care less. But she cared. She loved Luke and was willing to do anything to save him without her friends or not.

She heard them leave the studio when she went inside her house, almost slamming the front door behind her. The noise startled her dad, Ray who was sitting at the dinner table reading some paperwork.

"What's wrong _mija_?" he asked. His eyes met hers.

Julie was fuming. She wanted to tell him everything but wasn't sure he would believe her even if she tried. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Dad, what would you do if someone close to you was actually a clone?" she asked, nonetheless.

He shifted in his sit and was very surprised by the question.

"Well it depends on the situation," he replied carefully.

"But what if the clone has replaced the real person?"

Ray went silent. He seemed confused about his daughter's questions. She could see the way he looked at her and she didn't like it. She wished that everyone could see the truth.

"I'm not sure I understand where this is going," he finally answered. "I just know that a clone can't really replace a person because you still have control on it."

"But what if the clone did something to the person?" Julie was desperate for her father's support.

"Who are we talking about here?" he knew her enough to know this wasn't an innocent question.

Julie sighed loudly. "I think Luke's been replaced by his clone."

"I've seen him two days ago and he seemed like his usual self. But if what you're suggesting is true, there's an emergency code to shut the clone down that his parents could use."

Julie hugged her dad. "You're the first person to actually help, thank you."

He hugged her back and kissed her forehead. "Anything that can help you, _mija_. The only thing I'm going to say is always do what you feel is right."

The next day, she went to school thinking about how she was going to stop Luke's clone. The first solution was to find the real Luke, but she had no idea where to find him which led to the second solution. She had to question the clone and discover what he did to Luke. Or she asked for the emergency code and shut him down, but she still wouldn't know where Luke was.

Alex and Reggie walked towards her locker where she was taking some books before class. She glanced at them but kept doing what she was doing like they weren't there.

"Julie, listen," Alex said softly. "Reggie and I talked, and we want to help you. If what you think is happening is true, we would regret it if Luke is really hurt somewhere and we did nothing to prevent that."

"Yeah, at least we would know for sure, so I want to help," Reggie added with a small smile.

Julie finally looked at them, tears starting to fall. She was relieved that she wasn't alone anymore. She hugged them tightly and they hugged back, Alex stroking her curly hair gently.

Reggie then cupped her cheeks with his hands and wiped her tears. "But if you're wrong, we will look like idiots!"

"I'm not wrong!" she chuckled.

Reggie's hands left her cheeks and she took them. "Trust me."

And Reggie nodded.

They had to separate for class, but Julie elaborated a whole plan in her mind and texted them to come to her house later. Then, she apologized to Luke and asked him to come to her studio after school.

She would get her answers, whatever it took.

Julie waited at the studio. She had prepared everything according to her plan. When Luke entered the room, she smacked him on the head with her brother’s baseball bat. It wouldn’t have him unconscious, but it would be enough to disorient him. Then, she jumped on him to pin him to the ground. Luke was stunned by the sudden attack and hardly moved when she tried to tackle him. While Julie had all her weight on his back, she took the rope that was inside her jeans' pocket and proceeded to tie his hands behind.

"Julie, what the hell!" Luke finally yelled. Julie was clearly smaller and not physically as strong as him, but he was still dizzy from the hit he took before. He tried to move, however Julie was pressing on his back and prevented him from defending himself.

"Where is Luke?" she asked ignoring his wriggling.

"What do you mean?" he exclaimed, alarmed. "Is this a joke?"

"You're really good," Julie said, quite amazed. "Your imitation was almost perfect, but I saw right through you. You're not Luke, and you'll never be him!"

"I am Luke!"

Everything was clear now. Luke's clone had become too much like him and wanted to have his life. He was the one who got rid of Luke and not the other way around like everyone had thought. She gasped in terror when she wondered if he had killed him.

"What did you do to him?" Julie growled in anger and fear too.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Luke whined moving again and finally knocking off Julie from his back. He rolled so he was on his back, but his hands were still tied up.

Julie watched Luke trying to get on his feet but with a swift of her hand he fell on his butt. "Don't move. I'm not done with you."

"Julie, listen to me, it's me. I'm Luke and I'm not a clone! I gave the it back, I swear!"

"Stop lying! Where is Luke? Tell me now or I'm going to open you up and cut one by one all the wires inside your body until you tell me where he is!" Julie shouted. Her curly hair was loose and wild, and the anger deformed her face.

Luke's clone seemed scared and she wanted him to be scared. She wanted him to feel so trapped that he had no choice but give up and stop his act. She had seen a story like that on TV. A clone who played so well its role that he had replaced the original. It was apparently an error in the system that created that and allowed the clone to have access to everything and start thinking by itself and taking decisions. She thought it was crazy when they talked about it on the news and they reassured people that it was a rare case so they could still sell. But Julie knew it was starting to be dangerous and out of control and she was right. It was happening to Luke and she had to do something before it was too late.

She took the closest object she could find to use at any moment if the clone dared to move.

"Julie!" Alex entered the studio followed closely by Reggie.

They both looked at Julie with terror. The scene was pretty disturbing for them. Luke was tied up on his knees begging Julie to listen to him and Julie was holding garden shears.

"Alex, Reggie! Help me!" Luke cried out.

"Julie, put the shears down," Alex told her as calmly as he could. "There's no need for that, okay?"

"It's the only way to make him talk!" Julie retorted. "I know what I'm doing, just trust me!"

Flynn opened the door of the studio and saw with stupefaction what was happening. "What's going on?"

Everyone turned their heads to her. Luke was desperately trying to get up, but Julie moved the shears dangerously near his abdomen. Alex and Reggie were approaching Julie slowly in fear she would do something she would regret.

"What are you doing here, Flynn?" Julie asked but kept her focus on Luke.

"You weren't answering your phone! And then I heard people shouting! What's going on? Why are you holding scissors?" And then Flynn realized. "Oh my god! Why is Luke tied up?"

Julie took a deep breath. She chose to ignore her friend's questions. Finding Luke was more important and urgent. Without any warning she stabbed Luke's clone in the leg with the shears. He screamed in pain and everyone started to panic.

Julie raised her head to look at them. "Are clones supposed to feel pain?"

"He's freaking bleeding, Julie! Of course he feels pain, cause he's not a clone!" Alex yelled and then ran to take the shears from Julie who fought him to keep it.

"That doesn't prove anything! You were supposed to help me!"

"You’re acting crazy! He's clearly not a clone!" Alex protested and got the upper hand for a second until Julie grabbed the shears hard enough, but the sudden movement cut Alex's arm deeply.

Blood flowed out of his arm and he fell on the floor in terror, holding the wound. Reggie and Flynn ran to him at the same time while Luke had watched the scene with wide teary eyes.

They heard the door open and Julie's dad appeared.

"Dad, I-I didn't mean to... I just want to have Luke back," she said with a sob. "I'm so sorry Alex." She was still holding the shears so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"I know, _mija_... But not like this," he replied in a broken voice, a tear starting to fall down his cheek. "Off."

Julie suddenly froze and the garden shears immediately fell from her hand, blood dripping from the metal scissors. Her eyes went glassy and lifeless.

The room went quiet as they all let out silent gasps as tears were running down their cheeks. Reggie had untied the ropes on Luke's wrists so he could move again. Luke was holding his leg, his hand already drenched with blood. And then everything sunk in.

"No!" he shouted and crawled towards Julie.

He got up with all the pain in the world and then cupped Julie's lifeless face, smearing blood on her cheek.

"No..." he repeated before holding her and sobbing.

"You weren't supposed to know, but I had no choice," Julie's dad said after a few minutes. "I'm so sorry. Julie doesn't exist anymore, she's...with her mom."

"You-you said that she woke up from her coma, that she survived the accident," Flynn mumbled, her lips starting to quiver.

"No, she was gone. But I couldn't let her go so I-I ordered the clone and pretended she was still there. I wanted to bring both back, but I couldn't afford it and I had to choose. It was the most difficult decision I've made in my whole life." Ray couldn't stop crying.

Flynn couldn't believe it. This revelation left her speechless. She was trying hard not to cry but the tears couldn't stop falling. For two years she had thought her best friend was still there with her, but she had been long gone.

The memory of the car accident was fresh in her mind, even until now. But Julie was supposed to have survived this. Yet she didn't. Only a copy of her had been her best friend. Flynn couldn't take it. She fell on the ground completely shocked and numb and suddenly tired.

Alex was holding his arm firmly while crying. He was trembling when he walked towards Luke and Julie. Reggie didn't dare to come closer to them. He was lost and scared, and he felt like he had to grieve over the loss of his friend, knowing she wasn't really there. She wasn't real. Julie had never been _real_.

"She is still Julie to me," Luke murmured, finally calming down from the shock.

"Yes, she is," Ray replied almost like a whisper.

They all stared at Julie's lifeless body, silently, slowly registering this new development. Behind the shell, they only saw their friend.

**Two weeks later.**

"Hey, guys!" Julie grinned, walking up to her a group of friends.

They lighted up when they saw her coming to them. They all had been waiting for her in front of the school yard. She took Luke's hand and he smiled at her fondly. He squeezed her hand and didn’t let go.

"Hey, Julie! Welcome back!" Alex greeted with happiness. He started to play with the bandage around his arm nervously and Julie wondered what had happened to him.

"It hasn't been the same without you," Luke mumbled, tightening his hold on Julie's hand as if she was going to disappear at any time.

"I'm happy you're here," Reggie said almost tearing up.

Flynn stroked Julie's cheek with her finger. "We missed you, Jules."

Julie looked at her friend, confused. She tilted her head and her ponytail followed the movement as she said, "What do you mean? I was never gone."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was a fun ride, right? hahaha but was the plot twist good? ok thanks for reading anyway and see you next time with another fic!


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